Varsity & Other Results

With the pistes returned to Leon Paul this morning and the first post
Varsity training completed this evening, it seems like the right time to
reflect a little on the weekend.

The day began with a very close defeat for the Men’s seconds and a hard
fought match for the Women’s Blues which narrowly didn’t go our way
either. However after another close defeat in the Women’s seconds
match, the Men’s Blues prevented all the silverware from going to the
Other Place with an exciting 124 – 118 victory to close the day.
The standard of fencing from all teams was high throughout the day, with
many teams making great strides on last year’s performances in
Cambridge. A special mention must go to Alex Robinson and the Men’s
Blues as this victory – which saw strong performances from all three
weapons – ended two consecutive victories for the light blues. I hope
that this victory perpetuates further success for both the Men’s Blues
and our other teams next season: we should be ambitious in our aims and
with hard work, application and the correct mindset, we are capable of
achieving them.

Beyond the team fencers, many other members of the club and Old Blues
were involved in making the day a success. The volunteers on the door
imbued the event with the friendly and welcoming spirit that
characterises OUFC, whilst the volunteers on the live stream, microphone
and fencer slideshow stepped up to ensure that the event continues to be
one of the most innovative varsity matches. I’m personally deeply
grateful to all these parties for their help. There is a great deal for
the club to be proud of and Cambridge were highly complimentary of the day.

Finally, many congratulations to Neal Mallett for winning his 7th
British National Veteran’s title last weekend. With 7 wins out of 9
competitions, this is a highly impressive record. Indeed it is
important that whilst recognising the achievements of the teams, we
don’t forget the other members of the club competing on the national
circuit – they’re an integral part of raising the intensity at training
sessions and in so doing help us to be ambitious and successful.